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Attitudes of pharmacists to provision of Home Medicines Review for Indigenous Australians

  • Research Article
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International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Back ground Home Medicines Reviews could improve the quality use of medicines and medicines adherence among Aboriginal people. Despite high level of chronic disease very few Home Medicines Review are currently being conducted for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Objective The aim of this research was to explore the barriers and facilitators from the pharmacists’ perspective for the provision of Home Medicines Review to Aboriginal people attending Aboriginal Health Services. Setting A cross sectional survey was used to gather demographic, qualitative and quantitative data from 945 Australian pharmacists accredited to undertake Home Medicines Review. Method The survey consisted of 39 items which included both closed, open ended and Likert scale questions. Data was extracted from the online survey tool and analysed. Descriptive statistics were used to explore the quantitative data while qualitative data was thematically analysed and coded for emergent themes. Main outcome measure Number of Home Medicines Review conducted for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. Results A total of 187 accredited pharmacists responded to the survey. They reported that barriers to Home Medicines Review to Aboriginal patients may include lack of understanding of cultural issues by pharmacists; lack of awareness of Home Medicines Review program by Aboriginal Health Service staff; difficulties in implementation of Home Medicine Review processes; burdensome program rules; the lack of patient–pharmacist relationship, and the lack of pharmacist–Aboriginal Health Service relationship. Conclusion Changes to the medication review processes and rules are needed to improve the accessibility of the Home Medicine Review program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Improved relationships between pharmacists and Aboriginal health service staff, would increase the likelihood of more Home Medicines Reviews being conducted with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank accredited pharmacists who participated in this survey.

Funding

This study was made possible by Sanofi Pamela Nieman Grant funding from the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia.

Conflicts of interest

No conflict of interest exists for any of the authors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University Centre for Rural Health, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, 55-61 Uralba Street, Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia

    Lindy Swain & Lesley Barclay

  2. Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney, Lismore, NSW, Australia

    Claire Griffits

  3. Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, Sydney Nursing School, The University of Sydney, Lismore, NSW, Australia

    Lisa Pont

Authors
  1. Lindy Swain
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  2. Claire Griffits
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  3. Lisa Pont
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  4. Lesley Barclay
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lindy Swain.

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Swain, L., Griffits, C., Pont, L. et al. Attitudes of pharmacists to provision of Home Medicines Review for Indigenous Australians. Int J Clin Pharm 36, 1260–1267 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-014-0030-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-014-0030-y

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